A Temporary Fix
by InvincibleTonight
Summary: During the summer, Mikaela and Sam vist an old friend of Mikaela's mother and meet up with Mikki's cousin and her wild friends for a summer of fun, danger, passion and love. After the second movie. OCxRatchet OCxJazz OCtwinsXTheTwins OCxBluestreak & Cons!
1. Are These Your Eyes?

Sam reclined back in the passenger seat, arms tucked behind his head, "So where exactly are we going? And why on a perfectly good weekend in the middle of the summer?" He fell silent at the look that Mikaela shot him.

"We are going to visit an old friend of my mother's. She went to school with my mom and I'm finally getting time away from my job and my father to go and visit her."

"Does she have a house here on the lake?" Sam sat up and looked around at the houses eagerly. There were multimillion dollar houses here at the lake, and a bunch of famous actors and sports superstars spent their summers cruising the lake on their equally as expensive speed boats and yachts. Mikaela could almost see the little gleaming dollar signs dancing in his eyes. She narrowed her eyes exasperatedly and lightly tapped the brakes.

"Bee,"

"_No problem, Little Lady._" And with that the brakes were promptly slammed on, slinging Sam forward out of his seat and under the dash with a yelp.

"Now if you can forget your ridiculous notions about mooching off my mother's friend, I tell you where we are going."

Sam reluctantly climbed up in the seat, wary about any further break checks from his so called friend. He wilted guiltily under the withering gaze Mikaela gave him. She was the master of all looks beguiling, bewitching and belittling. Not to mention looks that made him want to crawl under Ironhide's berth and never crawl out. He gave a sullen kick to the underside of Bumblebee's dashboard, who let out an indignant whistle.

"We're going to see Jamie Bello, or as me and my mom used to call her, Momma Bello. They went to high school together, though Jamie was ahead of her by two years," here Mikaela stifled a laugh, "Three if you count the year she was held back. But they were best friends from the very beginning. They were a terrible twosome up until Jamie finally graduated, but even then they kept in touch. After my mother got knocked up with me when she got out of school, dad wasn't exactly around to help her, so she went to Jamie. Right after high school, Jamie set herself up in her own bar out here on the lake. After the first half a year, her business really took off and she's been the most successful establishment ever since then."

Sam was happy to see a smile brightening his girlfriend's face as she continued with her story, "She gave my mother a job and a place to live until my layabout father finally got with the program and decided that he was ready to support us. Jamie let my mother live with her above her bar for five years. Her Doberman Parmen was my best friend for those first years of my life."

"So she's basically like your, uh, second mother?" Sam ventured, intrigued to be learning something new and this personal about Mikaela. Even though they had been dating for going on three years, she was still very guarded about her personal life and something like this took a lot of trust for her to reveal.

She smiled at him and reached over to place her hand on his knee and gave it a squeeze. "Actually, more like a close aunt. Jamie always swore up and down that she would never have kids, even if they weren't really hers." Mikaela giggled and brushed her hair out of her face, "She actually told me if I ever called her mom she'd drown me in a keg and toss it off her dock."

Sam laughed and slid his arm around Mikaela's shoulder affectionately, kissing her cheek. "She sounds like an absolute prize."

Bumblebee let out a wolf whistle and revved his engine, sending the teens into a pile of laughter_. "Yarr, thar be land mateys!"_

Up ahead was large two-story building right on the water, with a huge wraparound patio that stretched out over the water, with stairs that led out to a large set of docks, which were big enough to accommodate the many large yachts that could be seen gliding across the lake. Strings of paper lanterns hung from the rafters of the porches, as well as many different strands and colors of rope lights. Even at the early time of day, barely noon, the bar was already bustling and they could see four barmaids hustling around with trays hiked up over their shoulders, skillfully dodging through the traffic while keeping up with the banter of their guests.

"Uh-oh, looks like there has already been a casualty of beer pong." Sam pointed to the parking lot, where a shining white and red ambulance was parked. The bumper was still bright and unmarked chrome, polished to the point that Bumblebee was reflected back to himself as he pulled up. The Camaro gave his lights an appreciative flash.

Mikaela giggled as she got out, shaking her head, "Sorry to disappoint your college frat boy dreams, but if that ambulance isn't on duty, it's parked here." She pointed to a building on the same lot at the far end of the driveway, what looked like a small single story beach house. "The girl who owns it lives over there. Jamie gave her some land for cheap to build on while she was getting her EMT/Paramedics licensing. She even has her own certification to practice minor field medicine at her home."

"Wow, this chick sounds like a girl after Ratchet's spark. Does she fling medical tools too?"

"If all of it wasn't so expensive, I might be tempted at some point or another."

Sam let out a shrill scream and leaped up, banging his head with a thud on Bumblebee's roof. He let out a squeak with the impact.

Standing behind him was a brunette young woman, her light blue uniform neatly pressed and tidy, a red cross and monitor line embroidered over her left breast pocket. Her hair was pulled back in a professional ponytail and she wore a minimum of makeup. A light purple smoke across her eyelids highlighted her soft blue eyes and a light blush emphasized her soft features and her feminine chin. She was slender, without the hourglass curves that Mikaela boasted, but with a definitely attractive athletic figure.

Mikaela let out a squeal of excitement and leaped at the young woman with her arms outstretched. Taken off guard, both girls hit the ground with a startled 'oof'. There was a moment of wrestling, Mikaela with her arms locked tight about the elder's neck and the latter managing to get a leg up and around her opposing hip. She twisted, flinging Mikaela across her form and onto the sand, rolling up to sit on her waist to pin her down.

"Oh god, what I wouldn't give for a pool of Jell-O right now …" Sam was watching slack-jawed, arms hanging at his side.

The brunette smiled down at her captive, before putting a hand to her mouth and calling out, "Jamie, little niece-y Mikky is here!"

There was a clattering of chairs on the patio as a tan, black and purple blur leaped the railing and shot towards the duo on the group, yelling at the top of here lungs, "MIKKYYYYY!" The blonde barely had time to dive out of the way before Mikaela was once again bowled ass over applecart in the sandy driveway.

Mikaela wrapped her arms around the tiny figure, laughing, "Nina DiMarco, you sly little bitch! Why didn't you tell me that you were working here? I haven't seen you in two years!"

"Because having a phone takes money, which I still don't got, _chica_. After I got kicked outta school, Jamie heard and gave me a visit. She offered me a job here, busing tables and dancing, when I have the time to." She gave a sly grin at Mikaela, "Which, to be honest, pays out more than busing tables."

"If you ever would have gotten a hold of me, I could have given you a place at my mechanic shop." She pulled up the short girl up with her as she stood, dusting them both off as they laughed and smiled. Mikaela waved Sam over, throwing her arm over the smaller girl's shoulders. "Sam, come here, I want you to meet Nina DiMarco, my little cousin, from my father's side."

Sam was shaken from his stupor and he managed to pick his jaw up off the ground and unlock his knees long enough to stumble over and trip over his 19 years of basic English and garble out, "Hel-hel-llo … hi."

It didn't help that one girl was his gorgeous girlfriend, one was hot girl in uniform (does anyone want to play doctor?) and another was a pretty little Latina girl who was practically spilling out of her top underneath of her rather risqué' apron. What kind of man wouldn't have trouble speaking? Three beautiful women, what more could a man ask for?

"Well, if it isn't my little Mik-Mik,"

How about four gorgeous women?

A tall, thin woman was slowly making her way down the stairs, wearing a pair of tight black leather pants, a tightly laced corset and a martini glass held delicately in her left hand. Her shoulder length straight black hair flowed gently in the breeze as in caught individual strands playfully. She had a strong but clearly feminine face, the kind of face you would find on one of those high fashion models, staring with a smoldering gaze from the high gloss pages of the magazine.

But the most ensnaring feature about the woman was her eyes. She had the same charismatic gaze as the mighty Autobot leader, Optimus Prime. Her dark, dark eyes, though difficult to tell, wear a shade green that seemed to trap one in her gaze, like she was seeing not just you, but _into_ you.

"Jamie!" Mikaela ran toward the tall dark woman and wrapped her arms around the woman's waist. The dark beauty wobbled slightly on her heels, the hand holding her glass lifting clear of the teen's tight embrace and let a slight smile come onto her features.

"Heya, Mikky my girl," She returned the embrace with a one-armed hug, before carefully extracting herself from the tangle of limb and returning to the safety and stability of the steps. Once back on solid ground, she turned and cast an eye over Nina, "Shouldn't you be working? You have another six minutes before your break. Get back up there, you little skank."

Nina gave Mikaela a last hug and muttered a quiet, "Sorry, Bitches McGee," and dodging a swipe from the free hand while snatching the empty glass from the other, before heading back inside.

A shrill beeping from behind cause them to all turn around, seeking the cause of the noise. The brunette's hand dropped to the pager at her waist, checking it before clicking in her response and turning it off. She looked up, smiling at the crowd around her who were all watching her with interest. She nodded to Jamie, "Sorry, but duty calls. Apparently the frat boys down on Westport were drinking and driving their Sea-Doos again. Three way collision this time; thankfully the Lake Patrol was there to pull them out, so I didn't have to do any water search and rescue. Just because I can do doesn't mean that I like to or necessarily want to." She jogged over to her ambulance and jumped in, starting the vehicle with practiced ease. With hardly any difficultly, she swung the big truck around in the limited space and was off like a shot around the lake, flipping on the lights and the siren while pushing her way through traffic.

Sam just gapped at the retreating backside of the ambulance. That girl was seriously a heart throb … especially the way those uniform pants hugged her impressive, heart-shaped backyard.

_**SMACK!**_

"Ouch! Mikaela, what was that for?"

She crossed her arms while giving him a look that clearly said 'this in not my particularly happy or amused face'.

Jamie strolled up and slapped him on the shoulder, " 'Scuse me, Sam, but I think these are your eyeballs. I found them in Melanie's ass cleavage."

….

_So here is the first actual chapter of the story. I'm a little rusty at starting stories, not exactly my forte, but here it is. Have to start a story before you can write the good in between stuffs. Let me know how you like or how you don't. I'll try to get this story rolling as soon as possible, but I'm also trying to allow for the appropriate amount of time to pass before I start throwing the groups together. Always happy for input and if it's good, you might even get to see your suggestion show up in the story!_

InvincibleTonight

End Chapter 1


	2. Gigglin Conniption

"Jamie, when did Melanie get back? Last I heard she was out on the coast, working with the California Coast Guard."

Mikaela, Sam and Jamie were seated at a booth in the back of the bar, sectioned off from the rest of the patrons, overlooking the docks. Jamie was seated regally in an ornately, if ridiculously decorated chair, hung with Mardi Gras beads, bedazzled and bejeweled with cheap plastic overly large diamonds and draped with scarves. In her hand was a huge sparkly black and pink goblet emblazoned with the word 'Pimpette'. It was filled to the brim with strawberry margarita, which she was imbibing at an amazing rate.

Sam gazed longingly at the glass. He was almost emitting puppy-like whimpers, drool running down the left side of his chin.

Mikaela kicked him in the shin under the table, glaring at him, "Sam, quit it. You promised me that you wouldn't drink until your birthday. You're being pathetic."

"But Mikaela, come on, please …?"

"No."

"But Mikaela, I can't wait that long!"

"But nothing, Sam, it's only three more days. You'll live, trust me. You promised me, remember. And remember what happens if you don't keep your promise?"

Jamie had to smile at how fast the boy shrank back from the edge of the table. Her niece sure knew how to train them fast. "Wow Mikki, what did you threaten him with? Not going to work under his hood?"

Mikaela smiled, leaning back in her seat with her arms tucked behind her head and placed her feet up Sam's lap. She winked at Jamie, "Nope, something much much worse then a little sexual dry spell. Yoga."

Nina went skipping past, tipping some more margarita into Jamie's glass, tilting her head to the side in confusion, "What's so terrifying about yoga? We do yoga everyday, in the morning and sometimes at night, depending on how stressful the day was."

"Oh it's not the actual yoga; it's more like my yoga instructor. Poor Sam happens to be the current object of attraction to Hadrian. Hadrian commented once on Sam's 'gorgeous, well conditioned derrière.' Sam has been a little edgy around him since then." Mikaela shot a smug smile at Sam, who watched her with a sullen glower. "I made Sam promise to not drink anymore until his birthday, or he has to go to a whole month of yoga class with me. Which means he gets to spend plenty of time with Hadrian; he bats for the other team, if you remember. Hahahahahahaha!"

Sam let out an involuntary shiver, rubbing his arms. "He didn't just comment on the merchandise, he wanted a preview too." The color drained out of his face at an impressive rate. "He helped himself to a double handful. That is the first and last time I ever want to be that friendly with a fag- YEOWCH!"

Mikaela's metallic spiked heel planted with ferocity just above his hipbone against his side in the soft flesh and shoved him onto the floor with a loud thud, evoking an ear-piercing feminine yelp from Sam as his butt met the floor. The look that she gave him far dwarfed the one that he had received in Bumblebee. The temperature almost tangibly dropped in the surrounding area and Nina edged behind Jamie's chair.

Sam stood up, one hand rubbing his side and the other babying his hind end as he emitted an offended squeak, "Mikki-"

"You even come close to saying that 'word', or for that matter any similar word like that, about Hadrian, and you won't be getting _anything_ for the next two months, mister." Mikaela narrowed her eyes menacingly at him, "And I mean anything, Sam. Not a single damn thing."

"He's ain't gonna to be coherent long enough to care, Mikki girl."

As Sam turned to face the new voice, his chin was met with a solid left hook that sent him sprawling across the floor. After his slide along the floor from was impeded by the wall, he gazed up at what hit him. His jaw hurt about as much as it had that time in the battle at the Pyramids. And considering that it had been fractured at that time, this was a surprising level of agony.

Standing in front of him, hip cocked at a jaunty angle, was a woman in tight blue jeans, black tooled leather cowboy boots, a cropped plaid button up top and a black cowboy hat. Her dark brown eyes were cold as she looked down on him, her left fist still clenched as her right hand shook her finger at him in a reprimanding manner.

"You don't get to talk 'bout my little brother like that, brat. Say something like that again and I'll take you out back and throw you a Texan-sized beating." Sam's eyes followed the fist with trepidation and his face quickly paled out.

Mikaela's face lit up happily as she leaped from her chair and jumped on the girl, "Riley!"

The cowgirl's face flipped to a smile as quick as a wink, an absolutely enormous smile spreading over her features, "Well, hey there little sister, what's shakin' bacon?" She wrapped her arms around Mikaela's waist and swung her around in a circle.

"Would you mind not pummeling my boyfriend into nothing? I still have to take him back home and I promised his mother he would be in one piece." She gave her best pout, sticking out her bottom lip and making it quiver, "Please Riley?"

The cowgirl gave her an incredulous look, her eyes shifting from Mikaela to Sam, who was cowering against the wall, eyes wide. "You gotta be pulling my leg, Mikki. **He's** with **you**?"

"Uh, yeah! I'm her freaking boyfriend! Jesus H Christ!" He cradled his jaw tenderly. Winced when his fingers made contact with the large knot that was quickly forming. "Forget this, Mikaela. I'm going outside to wait with Bee." Sam made a manly show of almost stomping his feet as he pouted away across the deck. He made it to the door and had just opened it when he was accosted a second time, by a matching pair of yellow and red blurs.

Red: "Whoa there buddy!"

Yellow: "Yeah man, ease back on those throttles."

Red: "We just got here and you haven't even introduced yourself."

Yellow: "You're going to have us thinking you don't appreciate our fine hospitality."

Each taking an arm, they towed him back over to the table and deposited him into his seat. Almost in a single motion, they flopped back into chairs across the table from him and leaned across, their eyes running up and down his form. They both grinned evilly and when they spoke, it was almost in turn, as though everything was practiced.

Red: "This guy is with you, Mikki?"

Yellow: "Would have never figured that. Seems skittish, very skittish."

Red: "But of course he would be, Mik likes to keep 'em in line."

Yellow: "Yeah, well, his lines need a little work."

Red and Yellow were dressed almost exactly alike; tight well-fitted black jeans that tucked into half-calf black heeled leather boots. Red and yellow silk scarves were threaded through respect belt loops and matched fitted jersey belly shirts. The red jersey had the words 'Team Ferrari' and the yellow jersey had 'Team Lambo'. On the backs were stylized the represented cars. The girls also had belly rings, with their chosen symbol in colored enameled dangling charms.

Riley leaned back in her chair, balancing back on two legs. She took a slow pull on her beer, her eyes watching him with a smirk playing around her mouth, "Bout as skittish as a long tailed cat in a room full of rockers." She laughed as his eyes followed her beer discretely as she set the bottle back on the table, "Lord Mikki, you ever water this boy? The way he's watching the bottle, I'd say he's so dry, if he were a tree in a drought, he'd be begging the dogs for a drop."

The twin girls (aka Red and Yellow) fell to the floor with simultaneous thuds, holding their sides as they laughed uproariously. The Texan looked nonplussed, picking up her beer and taking another long draught, "What in the Lord's name is wrong with the two of you? I swear, every time I open my mouth, you two have gigglin' conniption."

This was followed by more peals of laughter. "You're both crazier than shithouse rats." Tears were starting to flow now and Mikaela was starting to emit strangled giggles. Sam's face was turning an unhealthy shade of red as he clapped his hands over his mouth.

Riley shook her head at the group of them, "Y'all couldn't hit a bull in the ass with a bass fiddle some days, I swear."

Sam's head hit the table with a thud as a choked off guffaw of mirth escaped him. His condition wasn't helped when she leaned over and laid a hand on his should, asking concernedly, "You alright? You're sounding like a jackass' breedin' in a tin barn over there."

Sam leaped up out of his chair, dashing for the door and disappeared through the bar, hands still securely placed over his mouth as tears streamed from his eyes. Taking the front steps two at a time, he collapsed next to Bee, struggling to contain himself.

"_Howdy, partner."_

He lost it.

"Sam, what the hell?" Mikaela came down the step, dropping down next to him and rolling him over onto his side. He was gasping for breath and had gone a shade of red that would have been handsome on a well-cooked lobster. At the sight of his face, she started giggling again, even as she tried to pull him up into a sitting position. "Sam, come on, stop it. It's not that *snort* funny. Get up, you dork and shut *giggle* up!" She sat down next to him and he wrapped an arm around her waist, burying his face in her shoulder as he heaved for air. "At least you missed her parting shot. Otherwise I'd have a real hard time explaining to Ratchet that you choked to death while laughing."

He lifted his eyes up to meet hers, a brow raised in question.

"Nina, being the kill-joy that she is, explained to Riley that you and the twins where laughing at her, not with her. When she figured out what Nina meant she said that she was 'mad enough to eat barbed wire, spit nails and shit tacks.'"

He was off again.

A loud crash and a multitude of yelling greeted them from the front door of the bar and the twin girls came darting out, the one in yellow vaulting the rail while her sister leaped the length of the steps. They both hit the ground running and tore past Sam and Mikaela. The girl in yellow called back over her shoulder, "Get outta the way, she's on the warpath!"

The twin in red called back in agreement, "Yeah, you're on her hit list too! Get moving or she's gonna nail you to the wall!" (the last comment had Sam nearing the edge of hysteria again)

The Texan was down the stairs and moving at a surprising clip for such a sturdy built woman, with a beer bottle in one hand and holding on to the edge of her hat with the other as she thundered after the girls. She was shouting threats that included being hit to the ass-end of nowhere as well as having a date with a tall tree and a short rope. She gave a yell of triumph, thinking she had them cornered on the end of the dock.

The two continued on, taking a flying leap and hitting the water with a tremendous splash and two surprised shrieks of dismay.

…

"I'm not giving you guys any days off if you come down with something from this, understand?" Jamie was standing with one hip cocked, arms loosely crossed with her big 'Pimpette' glass tipping dangerously as she eyed the twins up looking the farthest thing from amused.

The two girls were curled up together in front of the partially open stove, sharing a ratty blanket as they shivered lightly. They had completely forgotten about the fact that it was just the beginning of summer and the water was still full of winter runoff. Very, very chilly winter runoff. As soon as they had hit the water, they had popped right back up and fought tooth and nail to be the first one up the dock ladder. Tex had hauled them both up and with one under each arm, strode back into the bar with the twins wailing like a pair of back alley cats.

Tex had stormed off into the back office behind the bar, grumbling and growling under her breath, mentioning something about having to balance out the accounts for the month. She had tossed the twins unceremoniously onto the ragged couch that sat off in a portioned off section of the deck and stamped off, her cowboy boots making quite the racket in the process.

As soon as asses had met sofa, Jamie had begun her reaming up the side of one twin and down the side of the other. Apparently she had this little talk about respecting other peoples cultures and euphemisms about once a week with them. All caused by their encounters with Tex and her broad spectrum of the Southern Culture.

Sam could hardly blame them. He hadn't laughed so hard in a long time; he still had a stich in his side that he held a hand to. Mikaela had had nearly as much trouble getting him composed as she did herself as a result of his hysteria. They had both had to support each other as they staggered up the wooden stairs, occasionally a strangled titter or hushed giggle would escape. While Sam was still hiccupping across the table from her, Mikki sipped delicately at her Virgin Strawberry Daiquiri.

Having finished with her tirade, Jamie sashayed her way tiredly back to her chair and all but collapsed into the throne. Taking a last long draw on her dwindling supply of margarita, she huffed and leaned back, shooting a final glare over at the shivering twins before turning her attention back to Mikaela. "So, now that we've had our wonderful dose of excitement, let's get back to the situation at hand." Her hand drifted down to scratch behind the ears of a big, aged red Doberman Pinscher. He had generous amounts of grey around his muzzle that was starting to creep up to his eyes and when he walked, it was stiffly, joints creaking and popping. "Hey there, old man." Jamie said affectionately. The dog groaned softly as he leaned into the caress.

"Well, I was just thinking the other day how long it had been since I had seen you." Mikaela said guiltily, "I know, I know, I should be concentrating on school and keeping my grades up. Which I am!" She added hastily as Jamie's eyebrow started to slowly creep up. "And I was thinking that with the shop doing well, with so much new business and now that my father is out of prison and working steady, that maybe I could do with a break." Here she paused, setting her glass down, tapping her chin thoughtfully with a well-manicured finger and gazing at Jamie with big innocent doe eyes, "And I thought to myself, what better way to take my vacation than to go visit my favorite aunt, Jamie, for a week?"

"For the record, I'm your only aunt, so damn right I better be your favorite, missy." She crossed her legs at the ankle, leaning back into her chair, hand still running over the dog's head as he panted noisily in the heat. "And just where were you planning on staying? I don't have room right now, with Nina living with me. The only place I could offer you is on the couch."

Mikaela smiled sneakily at her and turned to Sam, laying her head on his shoulder and wrapping her arms around his neck, "Sammy, baaabbyy," She drawled slowly, running one of her fingers down the side of his neck to draw shapes on his chest. A wicked smiled came to her when she felt him shudder and inhale a shaky breath.

"Y-yeah?" He gulped and shifted uncomfortably on the couch, sitting up a little straighter to relieve his 'discomfort'.

"Well, I was thinking that since it was your birthday in a few days, that maybe it would be nice to spend it here, just you and me. Relaxing on the beach in the sun, swimming all day, maybe take Jamie's jet-ski out for a spin. And her bar is open all day, breakfast, lunch and dinner. What do you think?"

"But she said that she didn't have space…"

Mikaela leaned up and kissed him lightly on the corner of the mouth, "I didn't ask that. I asked if you thought that it was a good idea."

"Of course I do!" He grinned at the thought of having his beautiful girlfriend with him for a whole week. A whole week of unsupervised alone time… a dazed look floated onto his face. Oh yeah, he thought it was a good idea.

He started when Mikaela sprang up, smiling at Jamie again and was seated over on her side of the couch again, "Good, I knew you would say that, so I took the liberty last week of renting out one of the little blue vacation homes just down the street on First Cove for the week. Happy birthday, Sam." She kissed him lightly on the cheek.


	3. Useless Little Scraps

_Hey guys, your author here. Yes, I have arisen from whatever hole I sank into. But I can claim a rather good excuse. About a month and a half ago, my show horse, Monty, had to be put down. He and I were very close and it hit me really hard because I couldn't be there with him at the end, as I was still stuck up in Michigan at the time. After moving back down to the STL, I found that my muse had gotten displaced in the move and I have spent a good deal of time searching for him in all sorts of places. I finally cleaned out my car and found him stuffed under the passenger seat. As I'm still brushing the dust off of him, I apologize if this chapter isn't exactly up to par. I promise that I will try to hope back on this bicycle and tame it back into line as quickly as possible._

_Your humble author,_

_InvincibleTonight_

…_.._

"Absolutely _not_!"

There was an almighty crash from behind the Med Bay doors and the few humans who were walking past leaped to press themselves against the walls, clearing the way. One too many times of being caught under massive metallic feet had led to a quick, unspoken rule among the soldiers; When the Medical Officer yelled, vacate the premises.

"Slag it, Ironhide, I said to hold still!"

The black mech narrowed his optics at the medic, both hands clamping down on the sides of the berth, "Then watch where you're aiming that fragger," He snarled, indicating the lit welder, "I didn't come here to get more damage, I came here for you to fix what I got." He turned his attention to the little human femme who was standing off to the side next to his head, dressed in her jumpsuit and hair pulled back into a neat ponytail, "And you, missy, don't go riling him up when he's digging around inside of _me_."

"Ratchet, come on, it's just for a week, we'll be fine. We'll have Bumblebee with us,"

Ironhide mumbled under his breath, "A lot of good he'll be against more than one 'Con … Yeowch!" He yelped when Mikaela tweaked at a sensitive wire in his neck, giving it a sharp tug.

"You're not helping the matter, you old bucket of bolts." She turned her attention back to Ratchet, who was once again carefully mending wires and lines in Ironhide's side, the welder occasionally sparking as he masterfully maneuvered the tool, "Ratch, it'll just be a week, sun, sand and water; no tempting death or life and limb. The lake is a human hotspot; the 'Con's wouldn't dare do anything that would draw that much attention. Not after having to slink away to lick their wounds. As much as I hate to say it, they aren't that stupid."

"Mikaela, I have looked up what type of activities that humans consider 'fun' at this lake of yours and I can safely say that there are hardly any of said activities that _don't_ risk injury, dismemberment or death. Especially since they have only one medical facility in the area and it hardly what I would call adequate." He bent the torn plating back into its proper position, drawing another snarl from Ironhide and promptly flicked at his connecting pain receptors, blocking them off temporarily. "My answer is still no. I haven't even gotten into the damages that you could receive from such extended periods of exposure to the rays of the sun and improper attire. Wearing such useless little scraps of fabric. Hardly what I would call 'appropriate'." He huffed, leaning close as he slowly closed the edges of the torn plate back into their proper places.

"That's the point of wearing a swimsuit, Ratch. And of lying on a beach to get a tan. They go almost hand in hand." She pointed out, pulling her welder's mask low over her face and moving around to where she could continue observing the medics hands.

"Hand in hand with sun damage, skin cancer and a myriad of other things. Not to mention the microbes that live in that body of water. Do you have any idea what those sorts of parasites can do to a human body?"

Mikaela glared at him through the mask, "The words 'Ignorance is bliss' mean anything to you, Ratchet?"

"I will not change my mind, Mikaela. That's final." The welder flicked off and he turned, hanging it back in its proper place. The yellow medic patted his comrade's arm, "There you are. Good as new. Now try to keep it that way for more than a day this time, if you please." He picked up his remaining tools and began placing them back into their allotted spaces as the black mech grumbled and snarled his way out of the Med Bay. Mikaela caught snatches of his mumbles,

"When I find those twins … fraggers are gonna get what's coming … afts to the wall."

"Come ON, Ratchet, please." She begged, tossing her mask aside and walking along the catwalk between the two workbenches, "I've been planning this for _months_ for Sam's birthday. And I haven't gotten to spend any time at my aunt's in _years_." She dropped into the big armchair that she had managed to talk him into putting into a corner of his workspace and unzipped her jumpsuit halfway, tying the sleeves around her waist, "Please, Ratchet? I won't ask you for anything else ever again."

"I highly doubt that, Mikaela," He stated amusedly, reaching up and tugging a stray wrench from the place where it had embedded into the wall, taking a moment to bend it back into working order before hanging it with the others.

"Alright, then how about this; I won't ask you to go to the mall with me for the whole summer. Or to take me to get my hair done." She was greeted with silence, "Or my nails."

"For the whole summer?" She scented blood and closed in.

"The WHOLE summer. And I'll help you clean out after your field shifts for Tranquility Regional, every night."

"Well, I guess that _one_ week isn't _too_ much to ask, but…" She could hear his armor cracking and went in for the kill.

"_And_, I'll wash you once a week, for the whole summer after this week. Wash, wax, shine; the whole nine yards."

"I suppose, as long as you promise me that you will be careful,"

"Swear on my honor as a mechanic."

"That you'll use proper precautions when spending extended periods when exposed to direct sunlight,"

"SPF 100 on at all times."

"And you show me where you'll be staying so I can check on you the days that I'm not scheduled at the hospital."

"… Come again?"

…..

"Alright, Ratchet, I can understand. But Ironhide?" Sam asked, peering at their entourage in the rearview mirror.

"Because Ironhide always goes with him when he goes out."

Sam adjusted the mirror to peer behind the black truck, "Sideswipe and Sunstreaker?"

"Please, you have to ask? The chance for them to park themselves at the side of a beach for one and all to fawn over them?"

A snort and another adjustment of the mirror, "Yeah, stupid question. Should of thought of that. What about the Big Man?"

"Came along to keep the Twins in line."

"Of course. So can I-?"

"_No Sam!"_ Mikaela snipped the conversation before it had a chance to get out of hand. The past couple of days had been a battle back and forth for the lift on the alcohol ban that Mikaela had placed on him. But his girlfriend had been standing strong and immovable on the issue. "You promised to not touch anything alcoholic in nature until your twenty-first birthday and I'm going to make you hold to it." She crossed her arms, giving him a sweet smile, "Look at it this way; it'll make you a better person in the long run. Building some character."

Sam leaned his forehead against the center of the steering wheel and let out a quiet groan, "Of course it will… the Berlin wall of character."

The dark haired girl reached over, putting her arm around his shoulders and giving him a kiss on the cheek, "It will, Sammy. And I'll be very proud of you. More so than I already am." When Sam smiled again, dropping a soft kiss on her mouth, she sat back in her seat and took his hand into hers, giving his fingers a squeeze.

Bumblebee gave a happy whirl, his radio flicking through stations in a rush of joyous white noise.

"Well, I guess since it makes you so happy; the both of you, that I can stomach these last few days."

A light buzz sounded over the Camaro's radio before Ratchet's voice issued from the speakers, "_Is that the 'bar' that your Aunt owns?"_

"That would be the place, and from the looks of the parking lot, seems like business is good this afternoon."

The actual parking lot was filled and people where starting to fill the overflow lot. Luckily, there was an open semi spot right on the edge of the overflow lot, with enough space around it for the rest of the Autobots to fill in around him. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe pulled in overlooking the marina, where the myriads of speedboats, pontoon boats and yachts were dock. Just down the hill between the lot and the marina was a sandpit with two volleyball nets set up. Along the edges of the pit a bunch of picnic table, some filled with families enjoying the sunny day. A little ways off was a small private beach, where small children splashed around playfully, some building sandcastles.

The bar itself was bustling, the outdoor patio exploding with bright colors and movement. Every now and then, one could catch sight of the black and silver design of the bar t-shirts, waitresses moving around with loaded trays balanced artfully on their shoulders. At the Cabana, there was a live band supplying entertainment, playing a variety of different genres.

Parked in a reserved space at the front of the bar was Melanie's rig, shined and polished to perfection as usual. In a space next to it, Jamie's dark purple streetbike sat innocently, her dark helmet with a matte black design hooked up around the handlebar. Farther down, two almost identical smaller street bikes were parked; the only noticeable difference being their color. One yellow with a bronzed flame design and the other red with a golden flame. And sitting in the farthest spot, alongside the building, sat a dark navy blue Chevy 3500, complete with Vortec V8 engine, crew cab and short bed. Around the license plate on the front of the vehicle there was a frame that read, 'Step aside princess, the Queen is coming through.'

Sam was struck speechless, staring at the machines in silent awe … until he read the license plate frame on the truck. He snickered, then was quiet, then burst out laughing. Mikaela gave him an odd look, "What is your issue, Sam?"

"Can you imagine that on Ironhide?"

It took five minutes before Bumblebee would unlock the doors to let them out. Enough time to compose themselves.

Bumblebee's holoform elbowed Sam playfully out of his way as he materialized from behind his partially open door. Standing a little taller than Sam, the little 'bot had the build of someone who was just coming into his own and just needed that final year to fill in to his body. With broad shoulders, long legs and slim hips, along with his thin build and sweet face, he was sure to break a few teenage hearts. His shaggy bright blond hair was striped with black and swept across his face at an angle with the back sticking in all directions. Loose fit jeans, a yellow and black plaid open button-up over a white t-shirt completed his look.

Mikaela gave him an appreciative once over, "Very high school chic, Bee. I see _someone_ listens to my advice." She gave a pointed look at Sam, who blatantly pretended that he, again, wasn't listening. Threading her arm through Bee's, she tossed her hair over her shoulder and walked with him over to where the other Autobot's were standing together. They glanced this way and that, taking in everything around them, all with varying degrees of interest. The Twins were already flashing smirks and winks at those who were regarding the two sports cars with jealousy. Ironhide had his arms crossed over his barrel chest and a scowl on his face, discretely peering about for any possible threats and silently snarling at any man with truck envy who so much as looked at the Topkick. Optimus was standing completely at ease, hands in the pockets of his bootcut jeans and an easy smile on his face.

And then there was Ratchet, who looked like he felt completely out of his element. Mikaela felt a little bad for him, but it was promptly kicked aside when she reminded herself that he had brought it on himself. But she did admit that he looked nice in his Tranquility Regional Hospital Paramedics uniform. His shaggy cut golden brown hair touched the collar of his white polo shirt in the back, the sides just covering the tops of his ears. He had a short, neatly trimmed beard that covered his chin and served to balance out his facial features nicely. His bright, electric blue eyes were almost a startling contrast to his darker hair and softly tanned skin. His dark, navy blue pants with their many pockets showcased his long legs and (Mikaela thought with a slightly guilty mental blush) his fine rear-end. Mikaela could tell by how rigidly he stood that he was very much irritated with the whole situation and he took the first opportunity to start bickering with Ironhide.

"Easy, you two," Optimus said amusedly and he placed a hand on Ratchet's shoulder, giving him a slight squeeze before turning his attention to the dark-haired girl as she sauntered up accompanied by Bumblebee, with Sam trailing behind them, taking the opportunity to stare longingly at the bright yellow Lamborghini while the Twin wasn't paying attention.

Sam had had the misfortune to meet the yellow twin by chasing Mudflap and Skids through the hanger at the Base and deciding to take a shortcut by sliding across a sleeping Suntreaker's hood. The Lambo had awoken instantaneously when the rivets on Sam's jeans skidded along his paint and had nearly dropkicked the boy across the runway. Not entirely the best first impression with the Narcisstic assassin. Of course Sideswipe thought that the whole situation was hilarious and been sure to point out every slight imperfection in his brother's paint job.

"So, Mikaela, what are we doing here?" The boss bot was gazing at the bustling patio of the bar, his eyes flicking this way and that with every new flash of color. "I thought that we were going to see your temporary place of residence for this upcoming week."

"Well, I decided that since you all were up here and might not get the chance again, I wanted to introduce you to my Aunt Jamie and my cousin, Nina. Introduce you guys to the last part of my family. And vice versa." She smiled at the Autobots, including them all in her statement. "You guys are all my family too after all. Even you two." She said pointedly to the Twins, who looked at her in surprise. After the whole 'Dukes of Hazard' event, the dark-haired girl and the Twins hadn't been on the best of terms. "Besides, I think I know two people that you guys need to meet. Twins to Twins."

"I don't think I could survive another set of terrors, mech-sized or otherwise." Ratchet groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose at the thought and grimacing, "It would overwhelm my processors, Mikaela. These two are already bound and determined to shorten my lifespan by a considerable amount."

"Sorry Ratch'. At least there's a live band?" Sam offered, a false cheeriness in his voice.

The hologram of the medic gave him a dry look, "This information is relevant to my current plight for what reasons, Sam?"

"A good distraction from your steadily shortened shelf life?"

…

_Well, I was greatly disappointed with the ending of this chapter, but it's leading up to the meeting of our main interests. Points of interest in the next chapter include Ironhide being taken down a notch, both sets of Twins raising all levels of hell and a pleasant surprise for our favorite CMO. Helpful criticism is appreciated and welcomed. And if anyone has any suggestions or ideas, I would love to hear them._

_Your humble author,_

_InvincibleTonight _


	4. Artistic License

_Sorry for such a large time lapse between posts, I've been kept very busy with my EMT classes and with my clinicals, which are now carrying over into finals and National Registry. I've been having 12 hour shifts at the ER at our hospital here and it's been exhausting. But I'm going to try to make up for it this time with a chapter that is twice as long. I'm hoping that this chapter might flow a little better than the last one did, I feel like I didn't flesh it out enough. _

_I would also like to let my reviewer, who chose to be known as SMILESS, that they shall no longer have to wait for the Terrible Twos to meet._

_And to my reviewer who sent me the note about my Twins, you are thinking along my wavelength and it scares me o.0 I applaud you, you were very close with your suggestion. That's the only hint that you'll be getting. I would have you listed by name, but I have to regretfully admit that I accidently deleted your e-mail while cleaning out my mailbox from my phone. Definitely a head-desk moment. And one that I followed through with at the bar of the restaurant that I was sitting at when I did it __

_So, without further ado, your chapter._

_Your Groveling Author,_

_InvincibleTonight_

AN: I don't own Transformers, though not for lack of trying. That franchise is expensive, let me tell you. Nor do I own rights to either of the songs. Damn…

…_.._

Mikaela led the group into the bar, Sam next to her with his arm wrapped around her waist and she waved, catching Jamie's eye. The tall woman strode out from behind the bar, indicating with a flick of her head for Riley to take over.

"Mikky, two times in three days? You're spoiling me here," She teased, her manner surprisingly laidback for the hustle and bustle in her establishment. She wrapped her adopted niece in a one armed hug, dark green eyes dancing briefly over the small herd that followed her in, "Got the whole crew here today?"

The dark-haired girl laughed, returning the hug warmly, "Only most of them. They wanted to see where Sam and I were disappearing off to and so I thought that I'd bring them by and introduce them. Are all the girls in?" She waved at Riley, who tipped her hat and winked, walking by with a large tray of frosty beer mugs balanced on her shoulder.

"Hey there, Miss Mik, you get lost on the way back home?"

"Nope, I brought some friends from the Army base near Tranquility. It was their day off and I decided to treat them."

Riley smiled broadly as she slid the tray onto a nearby table, the group of bikers cheering appreciatively as the mugs were doled out, "Here you are boys, enjoy. And try to make 'em last this time," She added, shaking her finger at them playfully.

One of the burlier bikers lifted his mug to her and yelled out, "Come on now, Tex, we just do it so we can see your pretty face again!"

His friend elbowed him and added, "We do hate to see ya go, but by God, do we _love_ watching you leave!"

Riley laughed, a loud, rolling belly laugh that turned heads and didn't seem like it should come from a woman, "Any more talk like that and I'll have to escort you outta the bar, Dane."

Jamie chuckled, leading Mikaela and the rest of the group through the press of the main bar and out onto the veranda, leading them up to a set of tables that were just being wiped down by the redheaded twin, who was chatting cattily over her shoulder with a table of nearby college boys. Just as they approached, one of them leaned out and attempted to grope her behind, only to retract his hand with a yelp when her blond sister snapped him in the back of his hand with her table towel. She smiled at him sweetly before bustling past, rolling her eyes when she swept by Jamie, who gave her an approving nod. The bar owner called to the redhead, "Celia, push these two together please." She waved her hand vaguely toward the freshly cleaned tables, "They're on my dollar."

"You got it, boss." Celia braced her hip against the edge of the table and pushed, creating a space large enough for all of them to sit, "There you are Mik, the best table in the house." She jerked her head towards the stage, "You came on a great day; these guys are pretty good. Unfortunately, they don't get this far into the woods very often." She flashed a smile around the table, winking at the Autobot Twins, who were looking between her and her retreating sister with surprising shock and intrigue, "So, how can I help you guys today?" She produced her notepad from her front pocket, pen appearing in hand.

"I'll have whatever it was that you made for me the last time I was here," Mikaela said, a slightly dreamy look coming onto her face, "It was heaven in a glass."

Sam was perusing the drink menu, with Ironhide reading over his shoulder. The boy ran his finger down the long list of drinks and whenever he paused at an alcoholic beverage, the black bot would make a noise of warning. Sullenly, Sam passed the menu across the table to the twins, who fought over it briefly before Ratchet coughed, glaring at them. Sam settled his hand on top of Mikaela's on the table, "I'll have a Coke, please." He brightened up when she smiled at him approvingly.

Celia turned her eyes to Ironhide.

"Double whiskey on the rocks," He gruffed, leaning back in his chair, his eyes scanning the room. He had chosen the seat with his back was toward two walls and he had full view of the whole open floor of the patio. He paused thoughtfully at the table surrounded by burly bikers and hefty truckers, who were having an arm-wrestling competition. He scoffed quietly.

The redhead moved on to Ratchet, "Water for you?" She offered with a smile, giving slight nod to indicate her recognition of his uniform. At his polite nod and quiet thanks, she moved onto the Twins, who were scuffling again. Ironhide kicked them under the table, drawing a yelp from both of them.

"She's waiting on you two slags," He growled, "Behave yourselves in public."

Celia moved behind them and delicately plucked the menu from between them, "Now now kids, play nice. If we can't behave at the grown-up table, you'll have to go sit with the other children." She offered the menu to Optimus, who took it from her with a smile and a, "Thank you, miss," which had her blushing lightly. "I'll take a glass of bourbon, please."

Sunstreaker sent Ironhide a snarling look, "You're asking for it, old man." He turned his attention to Celia, who shrank back slightly under his still angry gaze, "I'll have a double shot of tequila, shaken."

Sideswipe gave him a reproachful look before turning to smile at Celia, turning on his charm, "Don't pay attention to him; he just has his panties in a twist." He caught his brother's wrist as Sunstreaker went to punch him in the side, "I'll have Goose and Bull, please."

"Good taste you got, gorgeous, that's my favorite." She lit up considerably , almost glowing under his picture perfect model smile.

"Well, why don't you get one for yourself and join us?" He winked at her, making her blush darken alarmingly.

"Sorry, but we're not allowed to drink while on shift. I'll have to take you up on that another time. I'll go get these in; you guys take your time with any munchies." She turned to Sunstreaker, gesturing to Ironhide with her pen, "I'd be careful, he looks like he's still capable of taking you over his knee." And she scampered off before he could retort.

Sam and Mikaela laughed at the image that came to mind of Ironhide hauling the yellow Twin over his knee in the middle of the runway and swatting him with an oversized belt. It took until Celia came back with the drink tray on her shoulder for Sam to compose himself and he gulped a big mouthful of his Coke. Unfortunately it was mid-laugh and he choked, recovering when Ironhide slapped him between the shoulders and almost sent him face first into the table.

"I'm alive, 'Hide, don't kill me!" He yelped.

Celia smiled, doling out the rest of the drinks and tossing another playful wink towards Sideswipe, "So, amidst the attempted homicides, have we decided on food?"

"It might be a little easier for them to decide if they have a food menu, Celia," The blond twin appeared almost out of thin air behind her, a stack of thick menus held in her hand and a dry look on her face, "You forgot these. Just a minor thing, but a vital component all the same,"

"Thanks you, oh dearest twin of mine," her tone was almost sugared venom as she smiled sweetly, snatching the stack from her and passing them around the table, "But you could waltz your happy butt back over to your section,"

The blond scoffed, rolling her bright blue eyes, "Hard to paint a picture without your brushes, sweet sister." She emitted a short squeak when Celia hip-checked her smartly as she walked by. Dalia snorted, chuckling catching her balance with one hand braced on the back of Sunstreaker's chair.

Celia winked cheekily at her as she darted to safety on the far side of the table, all but hiding behind the bulk of Ironhide, "Brushes are over rated. I prefer finger painting, it's more liberating."

As the blond sashayed away, she shook her head, calling to her sister, "For those who lack finesse, then yes, I do suppose that the bare basics are all you could safely comprehend." Almost without thinking, she twisted her hips, turning her rear away from the grasping college boys and swiping up the empty glasses that littered the table of a young couple and their two year old daughter, smiling sweetly as she discretely shoved the back of a chair behind her with her foot. The rowdy leader of the boys, who had just lifted his beer mug to his mouth, had the icy cold beverage slosh up into his face and down his bare chest. He jumped up with a yell, grabbing whatever napkins he could lay hands on and swiping at his wet flesh.

Celia smiled, flipping to a new page in her pad, "Finesse has never been my strong point. Now, about that food?"

Optimus smiled, "Oh, just Sam and Mikaela. We ate before we came out and we should be back to base in time for dinner. If you'd just put us down for another round after this, we should be fine. Thank you, Miss Celia."

The head-head flashed him her tip-winning smile, "Just Celia will do, Mr. TDNH." She gave a wink before turning towards the two teens, tapping her pen against the pad, "Well, Missy Mikki? What can I get you and your beau?"

Mikaela flicked her eyes over the menu one more time, "I'll have the lobster and cheese stuffed portabella caps, if you don't mind, Celia."

The red-head snorted in mirth, "Of course I don't mind, I'm not the one making it." She turned to Sam, "And you, Sammy boy?"

"Big River Bacon Cheeseburger, hold the rabbit food." He wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"You know that 'rabbit foods' holds more essential nutrients in one serving than three of that block of animal by-product?" The group jumped as a whole, turning their attention to the newly arrived brunette that Sam and Mikaela had seen days earlier. She raised a mildly amused eyebrow before giving a minute shake of her head, "Anyway, Celia, Jamie wanted me to tell you that there is a phone call for you at the front desk. Again. And I'm here to take over from you in 15 minutes."

Celia's whole face lit up and she even went so far as to give a happy dance, "Really? That is awesome! That means that Jamie decided that we could play tonight." She darted over and threw her arms around the older woman, who lifted her arms out of the way and stared out over Celia's head.

"I believe that it would be pertinent to let you know that I was vomited on twice today." Melanie dead-panned, the corner of her mouth lifting in a minute smile when Celia leaped away from her with a gag.

"And you came into the bar like _that_?" She yelped.

Melanie turned, heading for the side stairs off the back of the patio toward the small blue a-frame that was set back into the woods on the opposing side of the gravel parking lot, the water coming up to a small backyard. Her wavy hair bouncing, she turned slightly, her profile just visible over her shoulder, "No, this is my second uniform; I changed at the hospital before I headed over. As I am not going to be bartending in my current attire, I'll be back in a few minutes."

Celia glared at her, her eyes narrowing as she stuck her tongue out at Melanie's retreating back.

"Very mature, Celia."

"I never said anything about my being mature," Celia grumbled before switching her attention back to the table and a huge smile broke out over her face, "You all are in luck. You'll get to hear my band play. We haven't been able to for a while because it's been school season and our guitarist and drummer have been away at college. They just came down to the lake yesterday, actually." She tucked the notepad into the pocket on the front of her apron, "I'll be back in a flash with your food."

As she hustled off, Optimus sent Mikaela a confused, "TDNH?"

Mikaela laughed, pushing her out of her face as a breeze off the lake blew the strands out of place, "It's her shorthand term for someone that she thinks is 'tall, dark, and handsome'. It's considered a compliment, Optimus." She smiled at the slight blush that appeared on the Autobot leader's face.

"Who was that?" Ratchet asked distractedly, his optics still following the retreating form of Melanie as she flipped through her ring of keys, unlocking her door and letting herself in into the small blue house. He studied the ambulance that was parked in the garage next to the A-frame with interest, running a quick scan over what he could see of the vehicle. Mikaela, Sam and the Twins all exchanged a mischievous look, the Twins looking downright devious and Sam like Christmas might have come early.

"That, Ratch', was Melanie Backes. She's one of the paramedics here at the lake and she bought out that house from my Aunt cheap in exchange for helping out around the bar. She's pretty cool, taught me how to use a jetskii, how to drive a boat and took me whitewater rafting two summers ago. She's also part of the state Search and Rescue Team, with her dog Bodi. They specialize in winter weather searching. Bodi can pull a one person sled, too. Pretty awesome dog, no offense to Mojo," She added, seeing the dejected look on Sam's face. The dark girl scooted her chair closer to his and wrapped her arm around his waist, her other hand settling onto his thigh.

"So, Mikaela," Optimus began, pulling the conversation back on track and attention away from Ratchet, who had noticed the looks passing between Sam and the Twins and was eyeing them in warning, "This is where you'll be spend a good portion of your time here at the lake?"

"Yeah, I figured that we could save a lot of money by just eating here for most meals. My Aunt already ok'd it, as long as we helped out during the wakeboarding competition that'll be held for two days. The bar is one of the primary sponsors and she needs lifeguard volunteers. Poor Melanie would be swamped if it was just her overseeing the whole thing. Apparently she did it last year on her own because the two guys who said that they would help out never showed. Jamie said that she had never seen Melanie so stressed out before and by the end she threatened to drown this one guy who was being an ass to her."

"I almost let her, too." Jamie had strolled up, chalice in hand and freshly filled. Her easy smile was on her face and she nodded in greeting before snagging a chair from an empty table and pulling it up to sit at the corner of the table between Optimus and Mikaela. She pulled a carton of cigarettes from her back pocket, tapping a single one out and placing it between her lips. Stowing the pack back in its pocket, she produce a silver-etched lighter from her cleavage and lit up, snapping the lid shut and inhaling deeply. With a contented sigh, she turned and exhaled over her shoulder into the wind, letting the smoke be carried off over the lake. "That man was a few cards short of a deck if he thought he could backtalk her while she was working on his wife. Argued with her about every little thing she did and criticized every move she made. I thought she was going to shove him off the back of the MedBoat." Jamie laughed lightly, little wisps of smoke issuing from her nostrils as she did so, "Don't think I've ever seen her that close to hauling off and hitting someone, but that bastard would have deserved it. Mel has the patience of a damned saint, but that man…"

Dalia came up, an empty drink tray under her arm and a smirk on her face, "You talking about that moron last year during the tournament with the diabetic wife?" At Jamie's nod, she let out a short laugh, "I was almost cheering for Mel to deck that guy. Funny as hell when she slammed the back doors of the rig shut in his face and told him, 'Sorry, but you'll have to find your own ride. I don't allow assholes on my truck unless it's bleeding'." This drew a snort of suppressed laughter from Ratchet, who lifted his glass of water to his lips and glared at the Twins again, who were having a duel with the butter knives.

"Medical humor, never something that should be used around those that have the IQ of a brick," Jamie agreed. She eyed the blond waitress, who was fiddling with her silver nametag, "So, Melanie tell you that I'm letting you guys off the clock early to play? I had Riley call the other two guys up, so they should be here soon. I wanted Mikki to get a chance to hear you, since she's missed you the past couple of times."

Dalia sent Mikaela a mock-horrified look, "You've never gotten to hear us play? You poor deprived child," She patted the brunette on the head in pity.

"I didn't even know you had a band, Dal. What's it called anyway?" Mikaela sipped at her daiquiri, snapping Sam in the back of the hand when he reached for the straw. He whimpered quietly, scowling at the Twins who snickered at him before nursing his glass of Coke. He would have flipped them off, but Ratchet had warned them that anyone who misbehaved while they were out in public would severely regret having done so. For a long time. He had been attempting to break Sam of his habit for a while now and his open ended threats were the only things that really seemed to have an effect.

"We're 'Artistic License'. We all met in art school, so we thought that it was fitting." She sighed happily, "Ah, for the simple days in life, before one had to worry about the descending whip of the slave driver." She dodged away from Jamie's reach, her small smirk back in place on her lips. "Hey, when I was painting that wall in the front, you kept giving me a shorter and shorter deadline! I had to stay overnight to get the thing done!"

Sunstreaker's eyebrows lifted slightly, an impressed look on his face, "You painted that mural on the wall beside the bar?" It had caught his attention the moment he had walked through the door; a floor to ceiling mural of an old English warship sailing on the bright blue ocean water with tropical islands in the background, dolphins leaping about the bow of the vessel playfully and colored banners on the masts flapping in the wind. It was so skillfully done that one could almost feel the deck rolling beneath your feet and smell the salty sea air. As a painter himself, Sunstreaker appreciated an artist who took the proper time to make sure every detail was done correctly.

"That I did, gorgeous, that I did, with this taskmaster breathing down my neck every second of the day," She jerked her thumb over her shoulder at Jamie, who was taking an amused drag on her cigarette. I took the job because she gave me two weeks to do it with good pay. Odd thing was, every time I came in, she told me that I had one less day to finish it up. I ended up finishing it in three days and a night."

"You'd rush someone too if you had the G'uvner staying in your living room. That damn bird never shut up the whole time I had him upstairs." Jamie stated dryly, flicking her cigarette butt over the railing into the gravel of the parking lot. There was a muffled shout from inside the bar, causing Jamie to push her chair back from the table, leaning back to peer into the doorway, "What in the hell?"

Celia came storming out with Sam and Mikaela's plates, all but slamming them down onto the table in front of them, fuming silently.

Dalia stared at her, startled, "Twin, what's the sitch?"

"Just my now _ex_-boyfriend," The red-head spat, "Has the nerve to wait until I'm at _work_ to freakin' dump and then has to _call_ me, instead of giving me the courtesy of telling me to my face." She drug her fingers down her face, inhaling and exhaling slowly, leaning back against the railing.

Her sister moved around the table, standing next to her and throwing a comforting arm around her shoulders, "Did he say why? Did you guys have another fight?"

The blond sighed, wrapping her arms around her waist in a gesture of self-protection, "No, we didn't fight. We haven't fought for a while. I thought that we were doing pretty good. Apparently I was wrong. Anyway, he said that he thought that we were at a difficult point in both of our lives and that it really wasn't me, it was him. So he was letting me know that he was getting his stuff out of the apartment and was going to stay with his friend, Chrissy for a while."

"That rat bastard, I knew that he was sleeping with that hooker. Want me to go beat the little punk's face in?" Dalia asked, her violent words a complete contrast with the way she said them and the soft expression she wore. When her twin shook her head, she gave her a supporting hug before having to turn away and head over to one of her remaining tables, "Let me take care of these guys real fast and then we can go and have a quick practice before the guys get here."

"Sure thing," She said quietly, then jumped when Melanie appeared at her elbow with a worried expression on her face.

"You're all done here; I can take over, bei." Melanie squeezed the younger girls arm reassuringly, "You two can practice at my house if you want. Take the opportunity for some 'fuzzy therapy' as you call it."

"Thanks Melanie," She hugged the older girl before nodding goodbye to the table, walking back into the bar to clock out. She pulled her apron over her head and tossed it behind the counter, giving her twin who met her at the door a small smile before they both ducked out and made their way over to Melanie's house.

Melanie shot Jamie a questioning look, to which she replied, "Got dumped."

The paramedic winced, "Again?"

"Yup."

"If she didn't date the gutter trash of the area, I don't think she'd have to put up with half of the issues she does." She moved around the table, sweeping the empty glasses up into two neat stacks, "I honestly don't understand why she keeps dating the same type of trouble making delinquent."

"It's the bad-boy phase," Jamie stated amusedly, watching her as she dumped her armload into the sink behind the tiki bar and pulled a round of new glasses from under the counter, grabbing the dispenser and refilling them, "Didn't you ever go through that when you were younger? The dangerous boys were what made you get all hot and bothered?"

Melanie gave her an impassive expression, "I can honestly say that I've never had that problem."

"Oh, really? And what is it that you look for in a man then, Mel?"

"Intelligence. That right there rather limits my options. I always pictured myself with a man who was at least six years older, if not more. I like them to be able to hold an engaging conversation for more than three minutes and to have a sense of humor that ranges above that of a five year old." She set each glass in front of the correct recipient without looking and slid the ketchup toward Sam, who was staring at it, as though willing it to obey him and move under its own power, "Sweetheart, if you need something, ask."

He mumbled his thanks, blushing slightly as his eyes followed her retreating heart-shaped backside. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker snickered when Mikaela caught him and flicked him in the nose like a misbehaving puppy. They quailed when she turned her powerful glare on them, "Two words, boys: sand blaster." They sobered up immediately. But their giggling returned when they noticed that Ratchet was having the same problem that had.

"Hey, there's Celia and Dalia!" Mikaela exclaimed happily, watching the twin girls walking up the steps to the stage, followed by two boys. One was unfamiliar to her, but the other one, "That's Hadrian!" She laughed, watching as the color drained out of Sam's face and he slunk down in his chair. The same boy who had felt Sam up during Mikaela's yoga class. He was wearing tight black skinny jeans and a black and yellow plaid shirt with a black and yellow bandana tied around his neck. His black and blond hair was fluffed up in an attractive bedhead style. He waved excitedly when he spotted Mikaela and he winked playfully when he saw Sam next to her, laughing when the boy turned bright red and slunk even farther under the table. Anymore and he'd be sitting on the floor.

The other boy was tall with dyed black hair that fell into his face, hiding his features from view. He wore a ragged black wifebeater and black wristbands. His baggy black jeans were ripped up and down the legs and there was just as much fabric covering as was missing. He slouched his way to sit behind the drum set, producing a set of drumsticks from his back pocket and proceeding to tap at this drum and that, tilting the body or tightening the drumhead.

Hadrian was sitting up on one of the speakers, laughing with Dalia and Celia as he tuned a bright yellow electric guitar, his long fingers flying over the frets and strings. Every now and then he would adjust the tuners.

Dalia had brought a metallic golden bass with her from Melanie's house, where she kept it in the garage alongside the paramedics rig. The faceplate was a pearlescent white, with matching tuner pegs. The markers on her fret board were the same white material in the shape of stars.

Celia sipped at a bottle of water and seemed to be quietly singing a scale.

After a few minutes of quick warmups and finishing the setup, Celia approached the mike stand, tapping it gently with a finger before speaking into it. At the sound of her voice, a crowd rushed from inside the bar to flood the patio and a massive cheer went up.

"Well, it's nice to see that some of you remember us from last year. It's always good to know you were missed. Sorry for the delay. So let's cut the chitchat and cut loose with some Artistic License." Her voice was crisp and clear over the speakers. "The first song we'd like to do is a favorite of ours, from one of our favorite bands, The Veronicas. It's titled Untouched, any objections?" After the crowd set up a brief round of applause, the music started, Hadrian's guitar opening in place of the violins, with Dalia's bass picking up after a few measures and finally the drums coming in quietly with Celia's voice.

"_I go ooh ooh, you go ah ah__  
__lalalalalalalala___

_I can't lie lie lie lie lie lie__  
__I wanna wanna wanna get get get what I want__  
__Don't stop__  
__Give me give me give me what you got got__  
__Cause I can't wait wait wait any more more more more__  
__Don't even talk about the consequence__  
__Cause right now you're the only thing that's making any sense to me__  
__And I don't give a damn what they say, what they think think__  
__Cause you're the only one who's on my mind__  
__I'll never ever let you leave me__  
__I'll try to stop time for ever, never wanna hear you say goodbye (bye bye bye)___

_I feel so untouched__  
__And I want you so much__  
__That I just can't resist you__  
__It's not enough to say that I miss you__  
__I feel so untouched right now__  
__Need you so much somehow__  
__I can't forget you__  
__Been going crazy from the moment I met you___

_Untouched__  
__And I need you so much_

_See you, breathe you, I want to be you__  
__Alalalala alalalala__  
__You can take take take take take time time__  
__To live live the way you gotta gotta live your life__  
__Give me give me give me all of you you__  
__Don't be scared__  
__I'll see you through the loneliness of one more more more__  
__Don't even think about what's right or wrong, wrong or right__  
__'Cause in the end it's only you and me and no one else is gonna be around__  
__To answer all the questions left behind__  
__And you and I are meant to be so even if the world falls down today__  
__You've still got me to hold you up up__  
__And I will never let you down (down)_

_I feel so untouched__  
__And I want you so much__  
__That I just can't resist you__  
__It's not enough to say that I miss you__  
__I feel so untouched right now__  
__Need you so much somehow__  
__I can't forget you__  
__Been going crazy from the moment I met you___

_Untouched, untouched, untouched, untouched, untouched__  
__Alalalala alalalala__  
__Untouched__  
__Alalalala alalalala_

_I feel so untouched__  
__And I want you so much__  
__That I just can't resist you__  
__It's not enough to say that I miss you__  
__I feel so untouched right now__  
__Need you so much somehow__  
__I can't forget you__  
__Been going crazy from the moment I met you_

_I feel so untouched__  
__And I want you so much__  
__That I just can't resist you__  
__It's not enough to say that I miss you__  
__I feel so untouched right now__  
__Need you so much somehow__  
__I can't forget you__  
__Been going crazy from the moment I met you___

_Untouched, untouched, untouched"_

As the last few lingering notes of the guitar faded, the crowd exploded into cheers and applause, whistles and yells.

The Autobots were stunned momentarily, they had never seen or heard music performed live, and each had taken a moment before Celia started singing to look up the song itself. Her voice was almost the exact same as the original singer except she sang with what could only be described as more passion. Her twin's voice was huskier than the original second vocalist, but fit well with her sister's style, the two voices almost seeming to play and build off each other.

Celia smiled, her sour mood caused by her ex evaporated in the face of her fans. Singing never failed to cheer her up and having a crowd of people who enjoyed her singing was a definite plus, "So, as this is the first of many performances to come this summer, since my two missing band mates have crawled from the dark abyss that is college, we're going to start off slow today with only a few songs. I'm going to pass the mic off to my twin and let her bring her own to the table."

More cheers and applause as the blond twin took over, passing her bass to her sister who slung the strap over her shoulder and drew her fingers over familiar strings.

"I know, right? Not only do you get treated to our unexpected first debut of the summer, but you get to hear us both sing. Talk about that blue moon occurrence, hmm?" She smiled, eyes flitting around from face to face, "So, anyone out here have a request for me, or should I just pick?"

There was a spattering of shouts, before she grinned and nodded, "I heard a couple of requests for E.T. Is that what you'd like to hear?"

Almost immediately, the introduction music started, the drum starting a solid beat with the bass running a counterpoint beat. Hadrian's guitar rifted through a complicated melody as Dalia's voice lifted,

"_You're so hypnotizing  
Could you be the devil?  
Could you be an angel?_

Your touch magnetizing  
Feels like I am floating  
Leaves my body glowing

They say, be afraid  
You're not like the others  
Futuristic lover  
Different DNA  
They don't understand you

You're from a whole 'nother world  
A different dimension  
You open my eyes  
And I'm ready to go  
Lead me into the light

Kiss me, kiss me  
Infect me with your love and  
Fill me with your poison

Take me, take me  
Wanna be a victim  
Ready for abduction

Boy, you're an alien  
Your touch so foreign  
It's supernatural  
Extraterrestrial

You're so supersonic  
Wanna feel your powers  
Stun me with your lasers  
Your kiss is cosmic  
Every move is magic

You're from a whole 'nother world  
A different dimension  
You open my eyes  
And I'm ready to go  
Lead me into the light

Kiss me, kiss me  
Infect me with your love and  
Fill me with your poison

Take me, ta-ta-take me  
Wanna be a victim  
Ready for abduction

Boy, you're an alien  
Your touch so foreign  
It's supernatural  
Extraterrestrial

This is transcendental  
On another level  
Boy, you're my lucky star

I wanna walk on your wave length  
And be there when you vibrate  
For you I'll risk it all  
All

Kiss me, kiss me  
Infect me with your love and  
Fill me with your poison

Take me, ta-ta-take me  
Wanna be a victim  
Ready for abduction

Boy, you're an alien  
Your touch so foreign  
It's supernatural  
Extraterrestrial

Extraterrestrial  
Extraterrestrial

Boy, you're an alien  
Your touch so foreign  
It's supernatural  
Extraterrestrial"

The crowd was an explosion of sound, this time the Autobots joining in right away, all for one. Suntreaker was speechless, his mouth even hanging open slightly. His optics were fixed on the little blond and she was _staring right back_. For the whole song. The way her body moved as she sang was hypnotic and he felt as though he was being drawn towards her like a magnet. Her sultry smile and hooded eyes made the fans in his true form kick on and he knew that the other 'bots were sending him questioning glances. He pointedly ignored them as he clapped, his eyes fixed on Dalia's and his small smirk saying it all.

Dalia could feel his eyes on her and she felt her face heat up when she caught sight of the satisfied smirk playing around his (positively kissable) lips. She had to admit, she had thrown a few more twists to her hips and full body rolls because she had hoped he had been watching her. And by the looks of it, he had enjoyed what he had seen. The tall, broad shouldered blond had caught her attention the moment he had walked into the bar. It was as if she could sense his presence and was drawn to him like a veritable moth to a flame. _That boy is smokin'! _Her inner self did a small victory dance at having gotten his attention. He had the walk of someone who was a badass and knew it, as well as the ability to back it up and a body that was built for sin. Not to mention the face of a model with the eyes of a predator. A chill crawled up her spine. She would _kill_ for the opportunity to tangle her fingers into his tousled platinum blond hair.

"Dal," She started a little when Celia touched her arm, jerking her head to the stairs, "Come on, another band has the stage next. We'll get more time tomorrow."

…

_So there we are, the Terrible Twosomes have met and some serious sparks are set to fly! I wanted to have some time to build the scenes between certain couples, but I felt that if Sunstreaker had an actual interest in someone, that he would be on it like a wolf on a deer. He's passionate about what he does, so I figured that his attraction would be a kind of actual magnetism, with his almost feralness on occasion._

_I hope I was able to keep the 'bots in character as much as possible. I know that I haven't given Optimus very many lines yet, but I've never realized how difficult the boss bot is to write! I respect those who use him as their main pairing._

_I'll really, really try to update within the next few days, since I know I've rather sucked at it in general. And being busy is a valid excuse, but a lame one. I know some authors on here are busier than I am and still manage two chapters a week in some cases!_

_Your hopeful author,_

_InvincibleTonight._


	5. Volleyball and Sweet Tea

_Hello to all again! I was surprised at the quick responses that followed when I posted the last chapter and boy, did reading them make me do my own happy dance. I will same that I got quite the odd look from the cashier at the check-out counter of the grocery store. Please lady, don't kill my buzz. I do want to respond to a few of my reviewers:_

_**StarSwoop**__- I see that you had the same picture in your head that I did when I wrote that part lol sends that wonderful shiver up your spine, doesn't it? ;)_

_**CooliotheAutobot**__- As you saw in the last chapter, you were pretty close with your comment there lol Like I said, you were following my train of thought. Here I thought that I was the only one on that crazy train ;)_

_**Annonymus**__- Now now, you're attempting to jump the gun lol I was wondering if someone would notice that Bumblebee mysteriously went missing. Don't worry; that will be explained in this chapter and I'm sure you, as well as everyone else, will love the explanation._

_Your Author Bouncing on the Booth in the Restaurant with Joy,_

_InvincibleTonight_

AN: I do not own the Transformers franchise … I wonder if a few of us banded together, whether we could afford it … I must look into this. But anyhow, the only thing I own is my Sunstreaker muse, who lounges happily along the back of the couch, making snide comments over my shoulder and nitpicking my grammar and lack of spellcheck capabilities. Oh, and kudos to Jeff Dunham. A line from one of his skits fits perfectly ;) Nor do I own any of Hal Sparks' material, but he's a damn funny guy.

…_.._

"Something wrong, Sunstreaker? See some little organic squishy 'eye candy' that's got you all hot and bothered, as the humans say?" 'Hide smirked across the table at the younger mech, who's engine was rumbling in a low growl in the parking lot, his cooling fans a quiet whirl in the background. The blonde gave him a sneer before a loud crash was heard from out in parking lot and 'Hide jumped, choking down a curse and glaring a promise of slow, bloody off-lining in the near future as he rubbed at his upper arm.

Sunstreaker grinned evilly at the older 'bot, "Sorry about that, old man. Still getting used to the new form, you know? Doors are tricky to get the hang of."

"Why you little-!"

"Easy, Ironhide,"

"But Optimus-"

The Prime gave his Weapons Specialist a pointed look, "You know better than to bait Sunstreaker." He turned to the yellow twin, who was smiling smugly across the table at the black 'bot, "Don't think that you're getting away with that either, Sunstreaker. Be more careful when we're off-base and in public. We don't need you drawing unwanted attention." Sunstreaker deflated visually, slumping back in his seat with his glass, brooding moodily. Only to have his chair shoved back towards the table, the brunette paramedic placing her tennis shoe on the back crossbar and her knee to the back. On her shoulder was a fully loaded tray of plates.

"I'd appreciate if you'd pay a little more attention to what's happening around you, if you please." When he glared at her back as she walked away, she surprised him by sending a scathing look back over her shoulder, "Don't you give me that look, boy, I've had enough to deal with today and you're already dangerously close to making it onto my list."

Jamie smiled at the yellow twin's shocked expression, "I'd be careful of her, if I were you. She's at the start of having a bad couple of days." She and Mikaela shared an understanding, sympathetic look, while Sam made a show of clapping his hands over his ears and humming loudly.

Sunny had a look of confusion on his face, "What?" He felt an elbow drop down on the back of his chair and a forearm rested on his shoulder. Looking behind him, he saw the blonde female twin, Dalia, leaning at ease, her one hip cocked and her legs crossed at the ankle. She smiled cheekily at him and winked.

"What Jamie means is, Melanie has hopped onto her menstrual cycle and isn't above running your ass over with it. The only warning you'll get is the sound of the engine. It goes 'biiiitch bitch biiiiiiiiitch bitch bitch'." She made hand gestures like working the throttle on a motorcycle, "Luckily you can hear that from a mile away." She shrugged one shoulder, "Otherwise for the most part she's pretty even tempered. When you do piss her off, the best course of action is to duck. She always has something fling-able in her pockets at any given time."

Celia appeared, leaning her hip onto the edge of the table next to Sideswipe, crossing her arms loosely, a grin perfectly matching her sister's on her face, "And the odds of it being something sharp double when she's wearing her paramedic uniform. The stuff I've seen her pull out of her pockets," Celia shook her head, giggling. Optimus noticed that Ratchet's attention snapped onto the red-headed female twin, suddenly interested in her story, "One time, last summer, she was restocking her rig in the parking lot, since her garage was being built, and some of the bikers were having a darts tournament. One of the guys nearly hit her twice and she snapped at him, telling him to watch what he was doing before he was shown up in front of his friends by a girl if he did it again. He of course, being the big, dumb, burly biker that he was, laughed at her and asked what she was going to do about it."

Sideswipe leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms back behind his head, a slow grin spreading across his face when Celia's eyes dropped down and skimmed back up his form … twice, "So," He asked, making her eyes fly back up to his face, "What did she do?"

Dalia picked the story back up, and Optimus felt himself smile when Ratchet's optics flipped over to her, "She flung a syringe out of the back of the rig, right past the guy's ear over his shoulder. Hit the target almost dead center, too."

Celia spoke up again; the medic's optics flipped back, "And the kicker is that she sticks her head out the back door and the guy is standing in front of the board, scared stiff, and she just tsks and says, 'damn, always goes to the left' and then just goes back to what she was doing."

There was a snort of laughter and they looked down the table where Ratchet sat, absently sipping at his glass of water and pretending to study the boats that floated smoothly out on the lake. Closer inspection revealed a subtle smile on his lips.

"Hey," Sam's voice was tinged with surprise and a hint of worry as the boy looked around, his head turning this way and that, first along the table, then in the surrounding crowd, "Where's 'Bee?"

At the boy's words, the 'bots realized that the little scout was indeed missing from the table. He had such skill at just fading into the background that if you didn't remind yourself that he had been there, you would never notice him. Even at the base, when he was in 'bot form, he could still come and go without anyone in the room noticing he had flitted by.

"He was here when we sat down," Sam looked more concerned, moving like he was going to stand and go looking for his guardian. "When did he leave?"

Jamie lifted an eyebrow at him, "You mean your little plaid friend? He was inside looking at the G'uvner when I came out here."

Optimus had a quizzical look on his face, "Forgive me, but who, or what, is the G'uvner?"

The black-haired woman tossed a thumb over her shoulder absently sucking at the straw in her glass, "He's the bar's mascot, I guess you could say. He's a blue and gold macaw that I got a few months after I opened this place. One of my patrons was moving into the city to take care of his mama and the apartment complex didn't allow any exotic pets. Since the little guy was only a few months old, still fluffy even, I told him that I'd take the bird off his hands and all his drinks in the future would be on the house. I had Tex and Melanie build him a big old cage inside the bar. It's just inside the main entrance to the left. The twins thought that it would be funny to teach him how to speak with a British accent. When they came into work, they would greet him with a, 'good morning, G'uvner', and bar patrons heard them calling him that and the name just kind of stuck." She tilted her glass, pulling the straw out and draining it before holding it out to her side. As Riley went walking by headed back into the bar, she swept it up onto her tray and returned minutes later with it freshly filled and deposited it by Jamie's elbow.

Sam hopped up, touching Mikaela's shoulder, "Hey, I'm going to go see if I can find 'Bee."

"Alright, you want me to come with you?" She asked concernedly, starting to push her seat back, but Sam shook his head.

"Nah, I'll be right back. He can't have gotten far. Be back in a few." He dropped a quick, soft kiss on her lips before pushing his way through the crowd.

He wound his way to the entrance, ducking around bustling servers, catching sight of Mikaela's cousin, Nina and waving. She waved excitedly back as she passed by, a tote full of dirtied dishes hiked on her hip. Apparently good, tanned looks ran in Mikaela's family. Sam found the big bird cage and looked around for 'Bee.

"Hullo, chum."

Sam jumped, his head snapping back around to stare into the cage. A big blue and yellow macaw sat on a branch right in front of him, watching him with its head tilted to the side. When he looked at the bird, it started bobbing up and down, hopping closer to the wire.

"Hullo, hullo, hullo." It chattered at him, tilting its head again and blinking at him.

"Um, hey there," Sam said uncertainly, leaning away slightly when the bird squawked happily and jumped foot to foot when he responded to it. It ruffled its wings and Sam noticed that its feathers had been clipped. That explained the abundant amount of branches and perches spread around the cage. The bird's long tail feathers nearly touched the floor and it was seated on a branch that was about chest height on Sam.

"Care for a spot o' tea, mate?"

"Uh, no thanks, my mother told me not to take tea from strangers," Sam turned away from the bird, who chuckled sadly as he walked away. Sam heard it call as he walked out the door,

"How 'bouts a biscuit?"

"Crazy bird," He muttered, turning sharply as he stepped out onto the front porch and nearly running someone over distractedly. A hand touched his shoulder and a static-y feeling zipped through him. "'Bee!"

The young blonde 'bot smiled at him and Sam noticed that he was wearing nothing but a pair of yellow swim trunks with black horizontal stripes that progressively got wider as they went down.

"What the heck, 'Bee?" Sam gestured to the holoform, who looked down at himself then back up at his friend, smiling sheepishly. He opened his mouth, hands lifting as he went to explain himself when a call from behind him made the little 'bot stop and turn. Sam's mouth dropped open when he peered around 'Bee.

Five bikini-clad, slim girls were running up the beach, one of them with a volleyball tucked under her arm. The one in the lead, a tall skinny blonde girl with a bleach white smile and smoky blue eyes jogged up to the young 'bot and threw her arm around his shoulders while her friend, a flaxen-haired beauty with outlined hazel eyes did the same from the other side. Bumblebee automatically put his arms around their waists and they laughed, hugging him close, "Bee, it's your turn to serve, we're waiting for you."

When 'Bee looked back at Sam, he had the courtesy to blush and look embarrassed. His hands lifted from their hips in a 'what was I to do?' gesture and he smiled lopsidedly at his charge.

"I'm in there, worrying that you might have been kidnapped, and I come out here and turns out I was right!"

The bleach blonde smiled cutely at Sam, wrapping both her arms around Bumblebee's neck and leaning her head against his shoulder, her tone turning seductive, "We didn't steal anything that didn't want to be stolen. You're more than welcome to come and play with us, if you want. We do still need a referee; want to fill in that position?"

Sam's mouth went dry when the rest of the girls flocked to either side of the first two, all leaning in and he found himself facing a wall of scantily clad female flesh. Very, ahem, well put together, scantily clad female flesh. He felt the heat creep up his neck and into his face, "I, um, I-"

"Sorry ladies, but I have to steal these two back," Ironhide stood leaning against the doorframe, his massive arms crossed in front of him as he glowered at both Sam and 'Bee, the pair of which wilted under his harsh gaze, "Sam, Mikaela's waiting for you. I suggest you get your aft back inside." His optics switched to 'Bee, "And you too. Go into the restroom and change your attire back into something more acceptable. We're supposed to be _avoiding_ drawing attention to ourselves."

Bumblebee made a sad little noise and the girls around him gave a collected, 'awwww' and the little scout was engulfed in a group hug, all the girls reluctant to let their new playmate go and inviting him to come back and play with them again whenever he wanted. As they returned back to the volleyball pit, they giggled and flirted with boys and men on the way; by the time they made it back, they had more than enough help to continue their game. When Bumblebee got closer to Ironhide, he made an inquisitive whirl.

"I came out to see what kind of damage that aft did to me."

"What do you mean, 'Hide? Sunstreaker never touched you," Sam stated, puzzled.

"Not my holoform he didn't. Slagger hit me with his fragging door." His scowl grew darker when Sam tried, and failed, to stifle a laugh, "You won't think it' so funny when I hit you, squishy."

Sam quickly skirted around 'Hide's lurking form, grabbing Bumblebee's arm and tugging him in after him, "Come on, buddy, its safe inside. No blood-sucking jock concubines or homicidal old 'bots." He ducked a half-assed swipe from Ironhide. Pausing outside the bathroom while 'Bee revamped his holo, Sam found himself in front of the macaw's cage again.

The bird was pointedly ignoring him.

"What, not going to talk to me now?"

The bird gave him a cold look, "Toss off, mate."

"What did you do to piss my G'uvner off, Sam?" Jamie sauntered up, her high-heels making solid little 'thunks' on the wooden floor. When she approached the cage, the bird made its way quickly over to her, leaning up against the wire, making a strange, happy little trill when she scratched its chest. Jamie smiled at it, "Who's my good boy?"

"Me, me, me, me, meeee," the G'uvner sang, puffing his chest up and stretching his wings out to either side.

"Have you been doing your job?" She asked, smiling when she saw Sam's new interest in the bird.

The G'uvner made the chime of a cash register, followed by what sounded like coins clinking together out of a slot machine, "Makin' lots of money, luv."

"And how do you want your payment, G'uvner?" She reached down onto a small shelf besides the cage, pulling open a small baggie and pulling a piece of dried fruit out.

"Feed me, yah great tosser." Jamie scratched his chest again, sliding the treat between the wires so he could grab it with his foot, "Thanks luv, yer a gem." He blinked at Sam again, before muttering, "Toss off, mate," And chewing on his snack.

Jamie snorted, "Rude bird."

Bumblebee touched the back of Sam's shoulder, making a low whistle of greeting. Jamie's easy smile encompassed them both, "Come on boys, Mikki sent me to herd you back. Don't make me use the cattle prod. Besides, you don't want to miss this."

"What's going on?" Sam questioned, walking behind Jamie as the crowd parted before the owner, calling to her and exchanging greetings.

"We convinced Riley to do one of her standup acts. She's pretty good, too. But she hardly ever does it, says that it's all old material that everyone's heard already. I told her that Mikki's never heard any of her jazz, so I manage to get Mel to cover her tables for a few minutes." Jamie gave her supermodel smile to the trucker who jumped up out of his seat to hold the door open for her. He stumbled over his words and Sam had to smile in sympathy at him. He'd been in that situation a lot lately. "Look what I found, hiding under my porch. It looked so pathetic that I just had to let it in. You can keep it, Mikki, but if it puddles on my floor, I'm beating it with a newspaper."

Mikaela rolled her eyes, pulling Sam back into his chair and wrapping her arm around his waist, "Hey 'Bee," She smiled at the young 'bot, who smiled back and waved, "Where did you disappear off to?"

Sam grumbled under his breath, "The traitor was playing beach volleyball with a bunch of brain-washed jock concubines." He shot a look at his guardian, who made a reproachful whistle, sending him sad puppy-dog eyes, "Oh, stop that, you know that's not even fair…" Sam glanced around the table and was surprised (or rather, not surprised) to see that the female twins had both pulled up chairs to either side of the Autobot twins. Jamie had sat back down in her seat between Mikaela and Optimus, turning her chair to face the stage with one of her feet propped up on the side rung of Optimus' chair. She slouched with one arm hanging over the back of her seat.

Sam was pretty sure she could make a ratty pillowcase look like high fashion.

Riley took the stage, much to the delight of a few bar regulars, who she tipped her cowboy hat to when they cheered from their corner table loudly, "Well howdy there. Been a while since I been up on this stage, but in honor of Miss Mikki being here, I let Mama Bello talk me into talk me into getting up here and saying a piece for y'all." She pulled the mic from the stand, moving the pole out of her way, her cowboy boots thunking hollowly on the raised platform, "So, for y'all who've heard this already, too bad. To those of y'all who haven't, paint me surprised, because ya obviously haven't been here that often." She paused, tipping her head back slightly as she looked around the room, before starting.

"I got kicked out of the South for thinking too much. And askin' questions at all the wrong times; like ever. They ain't fans of that. But y'all know the other reason I got kicked out is because I don't drink sweet tea?"

There was a spattering of groans and 'eww's from around the patio, and the Texan snorted, "Yeah, 'ewww', I know. But there's a good reason why I don't drink sweet tea. It's because I'm an adult and I don't need brown Kool-Aid, that's why. Because I'm a grownup and I can drink somethin' bitter once in a while without going (here Tex adopted a whiney, baby-like voice, which caused some hysteria with her heavy Southern accent, namely from the female twins) I need a Jolly Rancher to swizzle in this, it's too bitter."

She paused to take a sip of her glass of water, "But my thing is I don't drink sweet tea. But if y'all do it and ya like it, knock yourselves out. I'm one of those people who believes, 'if ya like doin' somethin', and it don't affect me, y'all go ahead and do it. But the problem here is, so many people drink sweet tea in this culture that ya can't order plain ice tea ANYwhere in the country. Try it," She turned and pretended like she was speaking to a waitress, mimicking holding a menu in her free hand, "Pardon me, ma'am, but can I get a plain ice tea?"

She turned to face the crowd, a bored, slightly irritated expression on her face as she changed her voice to that of a woman who had been working at a diner for far too many days in a row and the end of her shift was just on the horizon, "Ya mean unsweetened?"

She adopted a vaguely puzzled look, her brows furrowing, before answering, "No. I mean plain."

"No, ya mean unsweetened."

"No, ma'am, I mean plain."

"No, ya mean unsweetened."

"No, I mean plain."

"No, ya mean unsweetened."

Her voice steadily grew, the irritation getting more and more noticeable with each exchange that she portrayed.

"No, I mean plain, because there ain't no such _damn_ thing as _unsweetened _ice tea. What kind of an asshole sugars a beverage _and then_ takes the sugar back out again? How do ya even do that? Show me this machine that unsweetens the tea, ma'am. How long is this gonna take? How do y'all bitter it back up? Do ya use your personality or what?" She snorted again, laughing dryly, "She didn't take very kindly to that, if you could imagine. So, she goes, gettin' all huffy at me, 'fine, ma'am, fine, you can have 'plain' ice tea. Whatever, gawd." She turned, pretending to call the order in over her shoulder, holding the mic close to her mouth, "Can we get a plain ice tea?" Then whispered, "_Unsweetened… I don't know why… I think she's crazy, I already pushed the button for the cops under the thing there, just make it. I'll keep 'er busy."_

By this time the whole crowd was giggling, chuckling and some downright howling. The table of regulars in the back where nearly crying into their beers.

She turned back around, bored expression back on, "What size do ya want that, ma'am?"

"Aw, I don't know. I guess I'll have a small, please."

"We don't have small, we have medium and large," the bored voice now had a hint of anger to it; like the waitress was getting tired of dealing with someone she thought was completely incompetent.

Tex dropped her head forward onto the mic, mimicking smacking her head on a table, before perking up with a smartass look on her face, "No ya don't."

"Yes, we do, ma'am, we have medium and large."

"No ya don't, y'all have small and large,"

"No, we have medium and large,"

"No, ya have a small and large, because ya can't have a medium unless you have a _small and a goddam large to base it on, ya inbred!_" She yelled, throwing her free hand up in the air and stomping her foot. "That's what it means! It's a median between two extremes; it can't exist without the other two, _its fuckin' impossible!"_ She snarled, curling her fingers into a fist like crumpling a piece of paper before pointing an accusatory finger at the invisible cup of tea, "The only way that tea is a medium is if it can talk to the _dead!_"

She stopped, pulling her hat off her head and fanning herself with it, taking deep breaths. She smiled suddenly, sweeping her arms out to either side of her, crossing her legs at the ankle and taking a bow, "An' that is why I don't drink sweet tea, ladies and gentlemen. Thank y'all, ya've been a great audience, you're wonderful, you're wonderful really. Buy more drinks and tip well, because remember;" She lifted her glass of water and started a toast, which was taken up by all those who knew it, including the other waitresses. Melanie set her tray down on the table next to Ratchet, pouring herself a half glass of water which she lifted, "The carpet's all paid for, God bless the TV. Let's go and shoot a hole in the moon!" At the end, everyone tossed back their drinks, draining them in one go as per tradition. And with that Riley strode off the stage, tossing the mic to the returning singer of the band from earlier, who fumbled for it, tears in his eyes from laughing.

Celia and Sideswipe were supporting each other, leaning together as they howled. Dalia was leaning close in to Sunstreaker, who had his arm around the back of her chair, head tilted in her direction, listening intently as she told him about her escapade a few days earlier involving the Texan and her euphemisms. His slow growing, smoldering grin grew wider and wider as she went on.

Mikaela, Sam and Optimus were watching with growing awe as Jamie drained her enormous glass, which had been filled to the brim with frozen margarita in a single long swallow and people around them began applauding, standing up and cheering her on.

Melanie, in her attempt to remain out of the way of the growing throng of bodies, stepped in closer to Ratchet's chair, crouching down and leaning her arm on the table. She shook her head disapprovingly as a few inexperienced drinkers swayed as the alcohol suddenly hit then and more than a few sprinted for the railings, muttering under her breath, "And of course, do they head for the side over the water? No, they have to vomit into the parking lot, on the gravel. Fabulous. That makes my whole damn day. Like a three ring circus of the demented and disabled sometimes, I swear."

Ratchet sent her a dry, mirthless smile, "Trust me, my dear; I understand how you feel _completely_."

…..

_Wow, that's almost a whole ten pages! I'm impressed with myself here! I felt like I needed to repay Riley back some after having the Bar Twins make fun of her in the second chapter of the story lol so I decided that she deserved a little time in the spotlight as well. That whole part about the menstrual cycle always makes me smile XD And true story, I got to actually use that 'sweet tea' rant in real life! It was when I was driving back to Missouri from Upper Michigan. I had been driving since 4:30 in the morning, on roads that had 3 inches of solid ice on them in two feet of snow while pulling a trailer and it was around lunch time when I decided to stop and eat. It was this little down home diner in the middle of freakin' nowhere and I had THE bitchiest waitress that I can ever remember getting in my entire life. As I had been through an extreme amount of stress for the past eight hours, I wasn't at my best, most shining example of behavior and I kid you not, almost word for word, we had that entire conversation (except for the whole calling the cops thing, but I think she really wanted to do that after I got my tea (which I discovered on my first sip was sweet) and left without paying (she completely deserved it)._

_I hope you all enjoy my attempt at giving Tex her time to shine, it's one of my favorite pieces, so I hope it turned out alright. Listening to it in my head with her Southern accent made it almost twice as bad lol_

_Here's Hoping You Won't Burn Me Too Badly,_

_InvincibleTonight_


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